Matthews and Olbermann removed from election coverage
In a move that can be considered either a turn back to neutral coverage of political events or a fearful tactic to curb further criticism on their network, NBC News has decided to dump Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as co-anchors of NSNBC’s election coverage. Replacing them on the upcoming debates and election night will be White House correspondent David Gregory.
Some say the decision to drop the two most popular personalities on the network from the coverage stemmed from what critics both within and without the organization feared was the channel’s perceived shift to the political left (though, many have said that MSNBC has always leaned left as opposed to FOX News that leans right. Apparently, none of their shoes have the same-sized heels.). Others say their demotion stemmed from numerous complaints that came after Olbermann’s rant after a 9/11 tribute video was shown at the Republican National Convention. Then there are those who feel their on-air tiffs during the coverage resembled something out of Gossip Girl.
Really, Olbermann is probably more to blame in this demotion than Matthews is. It’s no secret where Keith’s opinions lay — as seen nightly on his Countdown show. Adding him to election coverage and not expecting him to express his opinions on what was going on would be tantamount to putting FOX News’ Bill O’Reilly in charge of election coverage and asking him to be neutral. What it comes down to is primetime talk show hosts should remain as talk show hosts and not news anchors. Be Conservative, Liberal, Socialist or Anarchist, the urge to express one’s opinions are hard to cutoff when done so frequently. Why the suits over at MSNBC thought that Keith could hold it in during the coverage is beyond my thinking.
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